The present invention relates to the class of hair cutting aids, and in particular, determining hair cutting angle.
As one might imagine, part of the skill of cutting hair by a barber or hair stylist in the heretofore known techniques comprises taking small areas or groups of hair a slight distance away from a person's scalp and cutting that section of hair such that when the hair goes back into place or is combed in place, the ends of the hair all join to form a rounded pattern surrounding the head, or any other pattern that the hair stylist is attempting to create. Cutting a section of hair too short, or cutting the section of hair at an angle different from the angle of hair cut in its proximity causes that particular section to become noticeable and to distract from the quality of the haircut.
Now there have been aids to assist the haircutter in cutting hair a fixed distance away from the head, for example, Gomme in U.S. Pat. No. 2,727,522 illustrates such a device. Here a distance measuring reference is attached to a finger guide such that when hair is grapsed and the distance measuring guide urged against the scalp, the hair may be cut at a certain known distance away from the scalp.
Various articles have been written concerning the science of hair cutting, for example, The Thinking Haircutter by Robert King is a book discussing different techniques for cutting hair in different areas of the scalp. In one technique, the scalp is divided into a plurality of pie shaped sections extending radially from the top of the occipital bone of a person's head in order to illustrate the importance of keeping the correct angle of inclination of the cut hair constantly maintained. Cutting the hair at the correct angle at the different points of the scalp to achieve layer cuts and a resultant desired hair style may only be achieved by monitoring each angle of inclination of cut hair.
Heretofore, the barber of hair stylist achieved such cutting angles by taking the section of hair along the gap between his index and middle finger, adjusting the angle of his index and middle finger in accordance with some angle already pre-set in his mind, and then cutting along the top of the index finger-middle finger junction with a pair of scissors. That section of hair was then allowed to go back to the head and an adjacent section of hair was then picked up, and the process repeated. The operator worked around the head, mentally measuring and adjusting each angle of inclination of the fingers for cutting each section of hair.
All adjustments which need be made in the angle of inclination of the fingers where the scissor cuts are made become a mental process, the operator having to first guess at what angle he wishes to cut each particular section of hair, and attempt to duplicate it with the next section and to modity that angle as he proceeds along.
It is readily apparent that an operator, firstly relying upon his mental abilities to fix the angle of the cut, and then continuing to rely on his mental abilities to accordingly adjust the cut, is severely taxed and only through long experience will become the successful barber or hair stylist.
It is apparent then that there is a need for a device by which the angle of inclination of the cut hair may be selected and known, as well as a method by which changes in known angles of inclination of cut hair may be made at a known rate. It is to this need the present invention is directed.